Chinese authorities are to try nine activists in the space of three days this week but have refused to hear connected cases together, in what human rights groups and lawyers fear is an attempt to mute the impact of the hearings.

All are believed to be charged with "gathering a crowd to obstruct public order", an offence that can carry a jail sentence of up to five years. Defence lawyers have been told they will not be given the chance to bring witnesses into court to testify.

The best-known defendant, Xu Zhiyong, will stand trial on Wednesday at Beijing No 1 intermediate people's court. Xu, a legal scholar, was key to the emergence of the New Citizens Movement, which pressed for social fairness, transparency and the rule of law and drew thousands of sympathisers.

Xu's indictment describes him as a ringleader who orchestrated protests calling for equality in education and produced banners and leaflets used when a small number of activists took to the streets calling for officials to declare their assets. They appear to have been encouraged by President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption drive.

Seven other defendants are connected with the group, while the eighth, Liu Yuandong, who will stand trial in Guangzhou on Friday, was involved in separate protests in southern China, including over censorship at the liberal newspaper Southern Weekend. He faces an additional charge of fraudulently registering the capital of a business.

Maya Wang, of Human Rights Watch, said: "It's quite clear that the New Citizens Movement has been especially targeted by authorities … But it is also part of a wider crackdown on activists in China. The authorities want to push them back a few paces where they have made progress in recent years. And this in turn is part of a wider pushback over the past year on civil society and online activism by Chinese people as a whole."

She argued that the party and government were trying to reassert control over public opinion while seeking to respond to grievances with measures that were "more than cosmetic, but stop short of fundamental" – such as the abolition of the re-education through labour system.

Four activists – Hou Xin, a journalist; Yuan Dong, a securities trader; Zhang Baocheng, who is retired; and Ma Xinli, a former bus driver – were detained last March at a protest in west Beijing after holding banners with slogans such as "Require officials to publicly disclose assets" and "Unless we put an end to corrupt officials, the 'China Dream' can only be daydreams".

It is thought that the four will be tried at Haidian district court in Beijing on Thursday. Another activist, Zhao Changqing, will be tried on the same day at the same location. The following day, two more activists – Li Wei and Ding Jiaxi, a rights lawyer – will stand trial there.

Wang said the spate of trials was probably in part an attempt to clear the decks before the Chinese New Year, but also to reduce the level of international and domestic attention.

She said: "If they were allowed to stand trial together, there would be a star team of human rights lawyers willing to take on the case and it would focus so much attention on this one trial, potentially embarrassing authorities a lot more."

Chen Jiangang, who is acting for Yuan and Zhang, said: "They separated one law case into six. It is a flagrant and shameless mistake … We [the lawyers] have appealed to the court and procurator to correct this mistake, but have had no response."

He said the trial would probably be held in a very small room, with each defendant allowed only two close relatives in attendance. Chen said the defence lawyers asked only that the case was handled according to law, but added: "The court needs lawyers to co-operate to act in this show … We feel shame."

Three more of those associated with the New Citizens Movement stood trial in December but have not yet been sentenced. Others detained in connection with the movement are believed to have been bailed pending trial, usually an indication that police will not press charges, and the status of others is unknown, including that of Wang Gongquan, a multi-millionaire investor.